As known, there is an increasing demand from the market for soft drinks or beverages containing fruit particles or pieces, such as soft fruit bits, normally available in cubes or slices, fruit fibers, containing large portions of fruit cellulose, and fruit sacs, i.e. intact “pouch-like” structures of a citrus fruit, containing fruit juice and having lengths up to 5-8 mm.
A typical known filling machine used for this kind of pourable products substantially comprises a carousel rotating about an axis, a product tank containing the pourable product, and a plurality of filling units supported by the carousel in positions radially external with respect to the carousel axis and conveyed by the carousel along a circular transfer path.
In particular, the carousel receives a succession of empty containers from an input star wheel and releases the filled containers to an output star wheel.
Each filling unit comprises a dosing tank to measure out a given volume of pourable product to be then fed to the respective container, a fluidic line connecting the dosing tank to the product tank, and a support element provided to arrange the mouth of the respective container in a lower position than the dosing tank.
Movable plungers are typically used to convey the pourable product from the product tank to each dosing tank and to measure up the volume of pourable product within each dosing tank; in particular, by detecting the displacement of the respective movable plunger during filling of each dosing tank, it is possible to determine the volume of pourable product flowed into the dosing tank itself.
Interaction of moving parts with this kind of pourable products may cause damage of the fruit particles, in particular when these particles are sacs.